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MONDAY 20 AUGUST 2012

APPROVED: KING KRULE - ROCK BOTTOM
A BRIT School alumnus whose eponymous 2011 EP marked his first as King Krule, London soloist Archy Marshall now reprises that release's dogged polemics in new single 'Rock Bottom'. Out via Rinse on 24 Sep, it finds Krule still savouring the same jazz-toned modes as in last year's 'The Noose Of Jah City', coupling his hoarse, "still sore" street-scripture with a kind of rare confidence more>>

TECHNIQUE, MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT
A UK based Artist Management company are looking for a full time assistant. Working closely with the Artist Managers, you will support the team by organising diaries, arranging meetings, managing telephone calls, proof reading/testing/checking, arranging couriers, booking transport and accommodation, obtaining supplier quotes, managing databases, ordering equipment, creating download links, updating expense reports, liaising with trade organisations and collection societies and generally helping out.

For more information including a full job description and how to apply click here.

ADELPHOI MUSIC, NEW BUSINESS PRODUCER
Music production company Adelphoi Music is an experienced team of composers and producers who take great pride in creating exceptional music and sound design from their central London base. The emphasis is on new business and we're looking for a candidate with fantastic contacts within the advertising, production and music world.

For more information including a full job description and how to apply click here.

AIR MTM, MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT/PA TO DIRECTOR
To provide an efficient and responsive administrative, organisational, and logistical service to the Director, helping him to manage and prioritise his time as well as taking care of artists diaries on the Air MTM roster. The candidate must be continually networking and building contacts and have a good knowledge of the ever changing music industry.

For more information including a full job description and how to apply click here.

EVENTIM, CLIENT ACCOUNT MANAGER
Eventim UK, part of CTS Eventim AG, the leading ticketing company in Europe, is looking for a Client Account Manager to join its London team. We need someone with experience of event ticketing and ticketing systems, who can build relationships with existing clients to grow Eventim's UK business.

For more information including a full job description and how to apply click here.

MORE UNIVERSAL/EC TALKS EXPECTED TO TRY TO REACH A RESOLUTION ON EMI
It's thought representatives from Universal Music will again meet with European Commission officials this week in the major's continued bid to get regulator approval for its acquisition of the EMI record company. And according to the Daily Mail, the offloading of worldwide rights to certain key artists in the EMI Anglo-American catalogue remains top of the agenda for European regulators.

As much previously reported, despite initially saying no concessions should be needed to get regulator approval for its EMI bid, last month Universal said it would sell a wide-range of EMI's assets in Europe, including the Parlophone and Chrysalis divisions in the UK. However, it's thought European regulators have asked for more, in particular the offloading of worldwide rights for certain key artists who particularly dominate in Europe.

Universal bosses have so far resisted complying with that wish, but with the deadline now approaching when the mega-major must hand over the money it promised to pay US bank Citigroup for the EMI record company - even if regulator approval is still pending - the music giant could really do with resolving this matter sooner rather than later.

Some insiders at the major have suggested threatening to pull out of the EMI deal completely, selling it on to a third party in its entirety (maybe one of those evil equity outfits who might just asset strip), in a bid to persuade EC regulators to accept the Euro-focused concessions already on the table, though it's not thought that threat has been formally made to officials.

Whether the major will instead arrive with a couple of high profile artist catalogues to sell on a global basis to get the green light once and for all remains to be seen.

VIRGIN MEDIA BLOCKS NEWZBIN
Virgin Media is the latest UK internet service provider to put a web block in place in a bid to stop consumers from accessing file-sharing community Newzbin. The net firm has instigated the block after receiving a court order, which was in turn instigated by the Motion Picture Association.

As previously reported, the first legal action by the movie industry against Newzbin resulted in the site itself being issued with a court order to stop enabling infringement, but instead its owners moved the site's servers to Sweden and outside the court's jurisdiction. The MPA then launched a successful case last year to force BT to block access to its customers to Newzbin. This set an important bit of precedent in UK copyright law, ie that the English courts could force ISPs to block access to websites that prolifically and persistently helped others to infringe copyright.

Although the UK Digital Economy Act of 2010 contained some new provisions to allow such blocks, that element of the DEA was all but deleted, with the three-strikes approach to combating file-sharing prioritised. However, the Newzbin case showed no new legislation was actually needed to enable web-blocks in the UK (meaning web blocking has ironically occurred before three-strikes has even got off the ground).

Confirming it had now blocked access to Newzbin, Virgin Media said in a statement: "As a responsible ISP, Virgin Media complies with court orders addressed to the company, but strongly believes that changing consumer behaviour to tackle copyright infringement also needs compelling legal alternatives to give consumers access to great content at the right price".

Both BT and Sky have previously blocked access to their customers to Newzbin, while all the major UK ISPs have similarly blocked access to The Pirate Bay following legal action by record label trade body the BPI. Though the operators of both file-sharing services say the blocks haven't affected their traffic, more web-savvy file-sharers being able to circumvent such blocks pretty easily.

SPOTIFY SUED OVER PATENT ALLEGATIONS
A Dutch technology company called Nonend Inventions NV sued Spotify in the US last week, claiming that the streaming music platform is infringing a number of its patents.

In the lawsuit, Nonend, which says it specialises in peer-to-peer and online streaming technology, accuses Spotify of "making, using, offering to sell, and selling streaming music services to users which incorporate methodologies that infringe" its intellectual property.

Of course these days you're not a proper technology company if you haven't got at least one rival accusing you of patent violations, though Spotify has already faced one such challenge - from San Diego-based PacketVideo last year - so probably doesn't need another just to claim legitimacy.

The Keys accused Pizza Hut and its ad agency of using the song 'Gold On The Ceiling' without permission, while US DIY chain Home Depot was accused of using the band's hit 'Lonely Boy'. When the band filed their lawsuit, a legal rep told reporters that the offending ads were a "brazen and improper effort to capitalise on the plaintiffs' hard-earned success".

But in separate court filings in LA last week, both the Hut and the Depot denied any wrongdoing. According to Billboard, both also asked the judge to rule that if the band's lawsuits fail that they should cover the defendants' legal costs.

FIVE HURT IN BARONESS BUS CRASH REMAIN IN HOSPITAL
Half of the ten people who were travelling in US metal band Baroness's tour bus when it fell 30 feet off a viaduct near Bath last week remain in hospital, an update on the band's website last Friday said (though it's not currently clear if any of those were discharged over the weekend).

One member of the band, lead guitarist Pete Adams, and three members of their five strong crew were released from hospital with minor injuries. Frontman John Baizley broke his left arm and leg, while drummer Allen Blickle and bassist Matt Maggioni each suffered fractured vertebrae. The driver of the bus, who was most seriously hurt in the crash, remains in a critical condition.

DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN PART COMPANY WITH GUITARIST
Dillinger Escape Plan have parted company with guitarist Jeff Tuttle, he wanting to study film and film production instead, the band announced in a statement posted to their Facebook page on Friday. Tuttle originally joined DEP to replace guitarist Brian Benoit on the tour for their 'Ire Works' album, after Benoit left due to injury.

In their statement, the band said: "Jeff Tuttle has been a valuable member of The Dillinger Escape Plan since the beginning of the 'Ire Works' cycle. He started his time with us in mid 2006 in a period of turmoil, and his positivity and team player mentality, his enthusiasm, and his fire onstage, will always be appreciated and will never be forgotten. That being said, for now, as you will read, his future with us is uncertain, but whatever the future holds for our relationship with him, we love him and wish him well and success as a brother who has gone into battle with us for six years, and we hope he enjoys and finds creative fulfilment in film school and his future endeavors".

Tuttle added: "To the fans of Dillinger, and to the multitude of people I've met, kicked, guitar-smashed, face riffed, or otherwise touched, I'm writing this to formally announce that as of today I will be taking my departure from The Dillinger Escape Plan. The years I've spent with this band have been some of the greatest in my life. I've seen and done so many things I never thought possible and I will forever be grateful to these memories and to the band that made them possible. I'd like to thank everyone who has given me support and encouragement along the way and to express all the gratitude that fills my bones. Dillinger is a beast that cannot be contained and I have no doubts that the band will continue on the road of destruction. I wish them nothing but the best in the years to come".

However, as the band also hinted at in their statement, he did not rule out returning to the band at some point in the future, saying: "Life may lead me back to the Dillinger fold in the future, but for now I've decided to pursue these creative paths. The past six years have been amazing and I'm lucky to have made it out alive. I'll never forget the time we shared on stage... the scars won't let me".

Tuttle will also continue to work with his other band Old Gods, and on his solo project Malo Konjche.

PERE UBU SIGN TO FIRE RECORDS
Alt-punk transcendentalists Pere Ubu have now signed to Fire Records (Guided By Voices, Mission Of Burma) to release their first studio collection in six years, 'Lady From Shanghai'.

The band, whose career spans 32 years and thirteen LPs, will have the long player in record stores in time for January 2013.

CARL BARAT TO RECORD WITH NEW BAND
Ex Libertine/Dirty Pretty Thing Carl Barat is to venture into the studio with Eyes On Film, the electro-pop quartet with whom he made his on-stage debut in London last Thursday.

Speaking to the NME, Barat said: "If I say I'm doing it for the love, will I sound like a member of Bon Jovi? It's because I met a band I really believed in. I met a band who do something very different to what I do, and thought it'd be good to step in. There was obviously a little bit of extra pressure, but it's the feeling of being in a band again. I didn't want to hold a band on my own, and I didn't want to be in a band and have to sort of apologise for not being The Libertines. And this is totally different".

Confirming a forthcoming studio session, he said: "I'm going to record a few songs with the boys. It's the first time I've felt natural with a band in a long time".

JONAS BROTHERS MAKING "OUT-OF-THE-BOX" LP
Having broken from their erstwhile label, Disney's Hollywood Records, in May, the Jonas Brothers have said that their new LP will be released "probably this year", at the earliest by autumn time. In its still-unfinished state the band say it sounds "rocky, poppy, country-ish" - basically their style of 'Camp Rock' days gone by - but also "out-of-the-box", so that's intriguing.

Middle JoBro Joe muses for the benefit of MTV: "I wish it could be released tomorrow. Obviously, there's just so many other things you have to think about. But we've been working on music for about three, four months now and got into a place now where it's just a rhythm, and we're creating the music, and it's really coming together really well. I would say [by the] fall hopefully you'll hear some stuff".

His elder Bro Kevin interjects: "We've done some out-of-the-box things. We've done some things that are rocky, poppy, country-ish. We've done everything. Really, we've been cultivating [the new music] for so long, we really want to spend the time needed to make it as perfect as can be because so much is riding on this album for us ... We've been gone for so long that if it's not right, then it could go very badly".

MOUNT EERIE PREVIEW NEW LP
Lo-fi folkists Mount Eerie have just shared 'Ocean Roar', the title track to their second LP of 2012.

Billed by the collective's principal songwriter and composer Phil Elverum as the "weird and darker and heavier" sequel to May's acclaimed 'Clear Moon', 'Ocean Road' the long player is released on 3 Sep.

Listen to its three minute counterpart here. And just in case you care, here's how it slots into the LP's overall tracklisting:

DOOM SETS DJ DATE, LONDON SHOW
Masked rapper DOOM - or MF DOOM depending on which you prefer (he prefers just DOOM) - will pay a rare live visit to London's Village Underground. Collectively known as JJ DOOM, he and collaborator Jneiro Jarel will take the stage to promote their forthcoming LP 'Key To The Kuffs', which is released today via Lex Records.

EXAMPLE TO TAKE ARENA TOUR
Example has set himself the not un-exemplary task of touring twelve of our nation's arenas. He'll use the tour as a promotional devise to push his new LP, 'The Evolution Of Man', subject to its release via Ministry Of Sound on 18 Nov.

CITY SHOWCASE PROMISED MORE ACTS AND EVENTS THAN EVER BEFORE FOR TENTH ANNIVERSARY
Central London new music festival City Showcase will celebrate its tenth anniversary year with its biggest ever line-up this October. The annual event will this year take place from 9-13 Oct, as usual in venues and shops across the capital.

Acts confirmed to play at showcases as part of the festival include: Mark Morriss, Lillian Todd Jones, Daniela Brooker, Josephine, Yellowwire, Magazine Gap, Big Cloud Kid, Fractures, Pink Cigar, Rev78, Floodliners, Shanel Brown, Robert Vincent and Ash Graham, winner of the new talent competition held at City Showcase's sister event in New Zealand. Admission to each showcase will be £5, though anyone who registers online by the end of September can get a wristband getting them free entry.

In addition to the music, City Showcase will stage a series of panels and events in the Apple Store and Gibson Guitar Studios, including a day aimed at students and those at the start of their music careers on 12 Oct.

City Showcase Director Nanette Rigg told CMU: "We are now gearing up for our tenth anniversary celebrations with more businesses, brands and venues taking part. We are celebrating the last ten years and looking forward to the next ten years showcasing more creative disciplines and creating an online festival to equal the real world experience creating even wider audiences for new talent".

BPI ISSUES TAKEDOWN NOTICE FOR NEGATIVE DRAKE REVIEW
UK record industry trade body the BPI last week admitted to accidently asking Google to remove two reviews of Drake's 'Take Care' album from its search listings, one positive from AV Club and one negative from About.com. It was the latter that received particular attention last week after the writer of the About.com review, Henry Adaso, wrote an article for The Rap Up, accusing Drake's label Universal of ordering the takedown.

Adaso wrote: "Last month, UMG filed a DMCA complaint urging Almighty Google to drop my 'Take Care' review for 'copyright infringement'. Makes absolutely no sense. The only UMG property on that page is the artwork, and IT IS fully credited. So what's the issue here?"

He added that after "looking at the DMCA complaint closely", he noticed that as well as two links pointing to his review, the AV Club review was also listed on the same DMCA takedown notice, he asked: "Why did AV Club get flagged? To deflect suspicion? These guys are good".

But, while "looking at the DMCA complaint closely", there was one thing that Adaso missed. Right at the top, in large letters, the title read: "BPI DMCA (Copyright) Complaint to Google". And just in case there was any doubt, record labels trade body the BPI is also listed three times on the document as its sender.

Asked for confirmation of its involvement by Billboard, the BPI said: "BPI uses the DMCA process to request the removal of millions of links in search results to infringing sound recordings every year. We have no intention of ever trying to remove links to reviews or writing about music. In this case, we regret that an isolated error occurred with the effect that we mistakenly asked for a few links to reviews to be removed. Immediately on learning of the mistake, we asked Google to reinstate the links concerned and are undertaking a review of our processes to ensure this does not happen again. We apologise to all concerned for our mistake".

As previously reported, Google revealed earlier this year that the BPI filed 182,805 takedown requests with the search engine between May 2011 and July 2012, the second highest number after Microsoft. What this issue seems to highlight, rather than a dislike of negative reviews on the part of the record industry, is how open to error this system is.

And, of course, Google announced earlier this month that in future the number of legitimate takedown notices a site has received would negatively affect its Page Rank score, making incorrect takedowns all the more frustrating for legitimate website operators. Incidents such as this will likely cause many to argue for an overhaul of the current system. Although in this case the error was spotted and corrected, it is not clear how many may go past unnoticed.

MEGADETH FRONTMAN ACCUSES OBAMA OF MURDERING PEOPLE TO PROMOTE GUN SAFETY
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine likes a good conspiracy theory. Especially if it involves Barrack Obama. Earlier this year, he admitted to being one of the alarming number of Americans who don't believe that their president was born in the US. Even though he was. As well as that, Mustaine believes that Obama didn't exist until 1996, when he became State Senator of Illinois.

You'd have thought those were enough bizarre theories for one man to be getting on with. But no. He has another one. And this one's worse because it warps awful things that actually happened and affected real people - the recent mass shootings at a cinema in Colorada and at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

Speaking during a performance in Singapore last week Mustaine said: "Back in my country, my president... he's trying to pass a gun ban, so he's staging all of these murders - Aurora, Colorado, all the people that were killed there and now the beautiful people at the Sikh temple. I don't know where I'm gonna live if America keeps going the way it's going".

I think there are quite enough murders in the US as it is, so the logic that Obama would need to stage a few to pass a new law banning guns doesn't really hold very well. And then there's the fact that Obama has never proposed a law banning guns anyway. Both the National Rifle Association and Mitt Romney have accused him of being an "anti-gun president", but it's not a topic he's actually brought up very much at all during his time in office.

Speaking to popular conspiracy theorist Alex Jones last Thursday, Mustaine justified his comments saying: "In the heat of the moment, when you're onstage and you're talking, sometimes you're not as eloquent as you'd like to be... [But] we really need to investigate this. I love our country and my whole thing with this is that I think we should just look into it... I just think that we deserve to know the truth - that's it".

He added: "I'm a patriot. I've always been controversial. I'm a political songwriter. And this wasn't done to hurt any of my fellow countrymen. I think that it's something that we really, really need to look into".

That's right, someone should just quickly check and see if Barrack Obama is ordering mass murders in order to help gain public support for his non-existent proposal of a new law. Good work, Dave. I'm sure everyone appreciates your tireless efforts to ensure that all Americans will be allowed to safely fill their houses with guns forever more. Because that's been going really well over the last 236 years.

"LIMP BIZKIT'S MOMENT IN TIME IS OVER", SAYS FRED DURST
No, Limp Bizkit aren't breaking up - in fact they're still signed to Cash Money Records, and recording both a curiously-titled studio LP ('Stampede Of The Disco Elephants') and EP project - but frontman Fred Durst has acknowledged that the band's popularity has waned since the post-millennial decline of rap-rock nu-metal. Not really surprising, since he also admits they "don't know how to do anything but Limp Bizkit", aka rap-rock nu-metal circa 2000.

Having asked why LB cancelled a Stateside tour last year, Kerrang! (via Metal Injection) quotes an uncharacteristically modest Durst as saying: "The reason? We just don't know what's going on in America. It's all about the new catchy thing and that's always changing. America is driven by record sales. It's the home of corporations. We're just Limp Bizkit, so we don't know how to do anything but Limp Bizkit".

He continues: "But here's the deal: say in 2000, there were 35 million people who connected to this band. Twelve years later, lots of those people have moved on. We were a moment in time and it's over".

So that's that; Fred Durst classifying the 'music game' as a case of 'adapt or die', whilst at the same time resigning himself and his band to... well, death. Oh dear.

CMU Editor Andy Malt and CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke are both available to comment on music and music business stories. Together they have provided comment and contributions to BBC News, BBC World, BBC Radios 4, 5, 6music and Scotland, Sky News, CNN, Wired and the Associated Press. Email andy@unlimitedmedia.co.uk or chris@unlimitedmedia.co.uk.

UnLimited Media also provides creative, training and consulting services for the music, media and communication industries. More at www.unlimitedmedia.co.uk.